HOYLAKE, England - If organizers of the British Open needed any vindication of their historic decision to use a two-tee start at Royal Liverpool on Saturday, it came from Rory McIlroy about 30 minutes after his round. Torrential rain was pounding the roof of the media tent as McIlroy was holding a news conference, discussing his third-round 68 that inched him closer to a first claret jug. Asked if The R&A made the correct decision to go off two tees and send the whole field out early, the tournament leader looked up and pointed to the skies. "It was a great decision," McIlroy said. "They got it right." In a move that riled traditionalists, The R&A looked at the forecast of thunderstorms and heavy rain and decided late Friday to make an unprecedented schedule change. Half of the field was to begin on the 10th hole and all 72 remaining players were to set out within two hours of each other. Sure enough, the heavy rain arrived — 30 minutes after McIlroy rolled in his eagle 3 at No. 18 to secure a six-shot lead with the last action of the day. Players finishing their third rounds were generally accepting of the two-tee start. "Weve never done it before at the Open Championship," said 2011 champion Darren Clarke, who was disbelieving when he was told over dinner on Friday. "Its one of the beauties — you get good tee times, you get bad tee times. "But they had to do it today, and it looks like theyve made the perfect call." There had been only intermittent outbreaks of rain and barely any wind at Hoylake by the time McIlroy wrapped up the third round shortly before 4 p.m. local time (11 a.m. EDT). McIlroys group finished about three hours earlier than usual on a Saturday at the British Open. There was thunder and flashes of lightning in parts of the northwest of England overnight, and the forecast of more of the same across the area on Saturday led The R&A to act. A two-tee start had never been done in the tournaments 154-year history. Spectators arrived with their rain gear and umbrellas. A sign at the back of the ninth green read: "Be prepared, thunderstorm possible." In fact, the main gripe among players and fans was that they were not given enough time to prepare. One spectator was heard complaining that the decision was made too late, because it disrupted his travel plans. "Theres a lot of surprise (among players) that no one could get their tee time until 10:30 last night," 2013 U.S. Open champion Justin Rose said. "Thats very tough when youre trying to prepare for the tournament." Swedish player Henrik Stenson said he had gone to bed not knowing his tee time. "My caddie woke up in the middle of the night and checked it," Stenson said. The split tee times also meant that the duties of Ivor Robson, the official starter for the British Open since 1975, were halved. Players getting underway on the 10th were introduced to the crowds by European Tour official Mike Stewart. "I dont know what to do now," Robson told the BBC after calling out his last name for the day at 11:01 a.m. local time (6:01 EDT). "The last two days the tee times have been 6:24 (a.m.) till just past 4 (p.m.). I will watch golf I suppose." Nacho Monreal Jersey . The Cottagers last victory came in a 2-1 home win over West Ham when Rene Meulensteen was still in charge. Since then, a miserable run of seven defeats and two draws has seen the club part with the Dutch coach and replace him with German Felix Magath. Granit Xhaka Jersey . The Swiss won on the fastest run-time tiebreaker after the four-racer teams tied 2-2. Wendy Holdener and Reto Schmidiger won their final heats against Julia Mancuso and Tim Jitloff, respectively. http://www.arsenalsoccerproshop.com/Auth...Arsenal-Jersey/. "I have had no discussions with Chad Johnson or his representation," Popp said Friday in an email. However, he appeared to confirm a report on Twitter from TSN this week that Johnson was on Montreals negotiation list. Alex Iwobi Jersey .Y. -- The Buffalo Bills will head into the regular season short on experience at quarterback after trimming the roster on Friday. Santi Cazorla Jersey . Of all the names out there who could realistically be dealt by Wednesdays deadline, Ryan Kesler remains No. 1 on the most desired list. And while were not sure if theyre any closer to a deal, we now have a defined price.Sport England, the Government agency that invests in grassroots sport, is tripling the money it spends to tackle inactivity. With more than one in four people in England doing less than 30 minutes of exercise a week, the Government wants sport to do more to tackle diabetes, obesity and other public health issues. Sport England will now spend 25 per cent of its annual budget, about £60m, on schemes specifically targeted at the inactive.Since we launched the campaign after the Olympics, weve got 1.6m more people playing sport but what we want to do now is to widen that number, Sport England chief executive Jennie Price told Sky Sports News HQ.We want to focus on those people for whom sport really isnt on their radar. Its an interesting challenge and we have some ideas of what will make a difference; it varies for different people.We have some great projects where, for example, trainers have helped women who had never run any distance, to run a half-marathon, so we know it can be done.Investing in people is a particularly good way to do it. Inactivity can happen to anybody of any age and it tends to come when something changes in your routine.ddddddddddddWere really interested in children and young people having an interest in sport at a young age because it means they go back to it as adults.The initiative represents a major shift in focus for the agency, as it has spent much of the last decade handing over big cheques to sports national governing bodies (NGBs) for them to spend on projects aimed at getting already-active people to play more organised sport.But figures for sports participation - on a broadly upwards trajectory since London won the bid for the 2012 Olympics in 2005 - have stalled in recent years, prompting many to suggest it is time for a rethink.Price said Sport England would still continue to invest in organised sport via NGBs but the new push on inactivity would inevitably mean a bit less money for sports core market. 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